FISH WARS -The Empire Deploys “Yuzheng”

As we guessed last week, the Chinese are sending Naval assets into fishing
zones. It could be a hot summer. You can track the Yuzheng naval patrol
boat in real-time on www.marinetraffic.com

At the time of this post…she is barreling at 13 knots directly towards the
Philippines.

Patrol ship on mission to protect fisherman
Shanghai Daily

CHINA’S most advanced fishery patrol ship arrived in waters off the coast of
Huangyan Island in the South China Sea yesterday, where Chinese fishermen
were harassed last week by a Philippine Navy gunboat, drawing protests from
Beijing.

The 2,580-ton Yuzheng-310 set sail from the southern port city of Guangzhou on
Wednesday. Its mission is to protect China’s territorial waters and ensure the safety
of Chinese fishermen, a statement from the South China Sea Fishery Bureau said.

“In the period of time that follows, the ship will go on regular patrols, help Chinese
fishermen in the area and look into other issues concerning fishing activity there,
” the statement said. China’s fishery authorities have sent ships on patrol and
shoal-guarding missions in the South China Sea 16 times this year. Patrols were
beefed up to protect the country’s maritime rights and interests, as Chinese fishing
boats had been frequently harassed or seized by armed ships of neighboring
countries, officials said.

Arrested, robbed Dai Yudao, a local official from the fishing town of Tanmen in
Hainan Province, said more than 700 of the town’s fishermen had been arrested,
robbed, assaulted or ordered to leave by the armed forces of neighboring countries
while fishing in the South China Sea over the past 12 years.

“We are frequently harassed by foreign ships in waters near the disputed islands,”
Dai said. “Our lives are threatened. But we will not back down, because locals have
been fishing in the South China Sea for generations.” In the most recent case, 12
Chinese fishing boats were harassed on April 10 by the Philippine Navy gunboat
while taking refuge from bad weather in a lagoon near Huangyan Island. Two Chinese
Marine Surveillance ships conducting routine patrols in the area later came to the
fishermen’s rescue. Meanwhile, Chinese authorities have released 21 Vietnamese
fishermen and their two fishing boats after detaining them for over a month at the
Xisha Islands near Vietnam over allegations of illegal fishing. The fishermen were
released after they gave a written guarantee not to infringe on China’s maritime
rights in its territorial waters, according to the fishery bureau.